Coly is my nickname. I have grown up Coly to most of my family and friends and because of them and because of my love for jotting down what goes on in my life I have created a journal that is shared online. This blog is about myself and my adventures with trying to stay healthy, find my way in the world and not go crazy doing so. My blog will include a weekly story filled with my life, my love for cooking and a journey to becoming a dietitian and other great adventures.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Sea World with the cousins

I have just made a visit to the fun filled Sea World San Diego. It was a great day spent with my cousins who have been visiting with us for Israel. We saw most of the shows from One Ocean with Shamu, Blue Horizon with the dolphins, and a special spooktacular with Seamore and Clyde. In-between these cute amusing shows we went on Manta and Journey to Atlantis (both twice), some little kiddy ride, Shipwreck Rapids, pet the stingrays, stared at some starfish and many other fish, took a glimpse of the Cirque De La Mer theater, watched Pirates 4D, and walked through some of the shops.

I have come up with two different discoveries while at Sea World. First off I have forgotten how different it is during the school year. When kids are in school there are not as many shows and the park is EMPTY!! Summer time the park is so packed that you have to arrive at a show 30 minutes early and pray you get decent seats. This time around we got to shows maybe two or three minutes before it started and we were able to find prime seating. Even going to the One Ocean Show with Shamu we were able to get the perfect seats maybe 8-10 rows up where we were in the soak zone section but far enough up where we won't get the full feeling of soaking Shamu water all over us and close enough to the center of the stage where we can see everything but are not to far into the center so that our view is altered by that weird center section where the killer whales come up to say hi. To top that off there were no lines at all! We literally just walked onto all the rides we went on which is always a great way to enjoy any theme park.

The second discovery of mine, which is more of a realization is that I have no idea where you can find healthy food in Sea World. Could you imagine me not knowing where to find healthy food in a place before arrival. It's not something that occurs often today. After this realization I figured I would make a blog about where you can find some healthy eats in Sea World San Diego. I really Have to first tell you how this all came to be. The first thing that I notice was right up front there are the booths that sell Dip n' Dots, Popcorn, and some other junk food. Then as we kept on walking I realized that the booths are always there. There are booths for ice cream, popcorn, hot dogs, those ginormous turkey legs and whatever else can be sold in a booth or cart. Then it came time when we walked passed Mama Stella's, an "Italian" restaurant. Notice the quotations? Mama Stella's is a place where you can get ridiculously oily pizza, raw over sauced pasta (and the sauce is just sugar with tomatoes), a tiny little house salad or caprese salad, or you can get the eggplant parmesan smothered in sauce and cheese. With little girls who haven't hit puberty yet you could imagine them seeing the images of the pizza and pasta and immediately wanting to go there for lunch and that is unfortunately what we did. luckily I have all my food issues so I snuck in my own snacks that I munched on instead but I did come to the thought while eating my snacks and while they are complaining that the pasta is actually disgusting that I should know what I can have here and what is healthy here just in case. The rest of the day was great but my mind was on writing this particular blog, so here I am writing to you all.

Yesterday I decided to have a look at the menus of the restaurants and little shacks that are in sea world and have actually found some healthy choices. To be honest I thought it would take a little more digging but it really didn't, as I looked around I started to remember a few things which I am glad I did because now I know what I can get if I decide to spend a ridiculous amount of money on food. If you dig a tiny bit into what is in Sea World, dig just a little underneath the funnel cakes, ice cream, the funnel fries that looked so yummy, and the hamburgers and pasta drenched in oily, fatty cheese and this is what you will find:

For breakfast I honestly don't think you would need to worry considering this time of year Sea World opens at 10:00 and it would be great to do breakfast at home or even go out to a restaurant like Broken Yolk in various locations, The Naked Cafe in Point Loma or The Olive Cafe right by Santa Clara Point. However, if you really want some breakfast food in Sea World they do have some. They have a fruit and yogurt bowl at the Seaport Market and eggs as well. To top that off you can find a cup of fresh fruit in just about any restaurant and shack in Sea World.

Keep in mind three restaurants. First is Calypso, which has a fun tropical vibe to it. For healthy variety not your best bet but they do have a veggie wrap and a side salad you can enjoy if you want to go for the environment. The second restaurant is Shipwreck Reef Cafe. This is where I would most likely be for healthy and any other kind of food I want. It is a meat lovers paradise with burgers, sandwiches hot dogs and other choices. To stay healthy at Shipwreck you can get some Grilled Salmon, Carved Turkey (ask for it with a sandwich and eat a slice of bread with the turkey if you need the extra carbs to re-energize) and if you are a veggie lover they offer the garden salad, veggie salad, house salad, and a veggie burger and lastly a seafood salad. As you can see the choices are numerous in Shipwreck Reef Cafe. The final restaurant in the top three you should check out is Seaport Market which I have mentioned. This restaurant is almost hidden. It's right by the entrance on the way to Journey to Atlantis but it really doesn't look like a place to eat. They made it look like stables and they do hold horses along with other animals in the area but hidden is Seaport Market with a few tables to relax and they have some healthy choices as well. you can get a veggie wrap are some carved turkey deliciousness with a house salad here and as mentioned before they have some breakfast options as well you can enjoy. If you want to splurge a little have fun and dine with Shamu. At night you get to be in a secluded little area right by Shamus tank and enjoy a healthy dinner that includes oven baked tilapia, caprese salad or panzanella vegetable salad or go for that juicy tri tip and ax the sauce and ad some local veggies. and for dessert if you are like me and usually want more than just plane old fruit go for the fruit tart (although they do serve fresh fruit).
Don't forget to just enjoy it there. The weather is cooling down for some prime Sea World time and there is nothing better than a day laughing at the terrible yet amusing acting done while watching Seamore and Clyde, feeling like your about to throw up after you just got of Manta, and learning about new creatures like the Cownose Ray, known for it's pectorals. I know ridiculous but it is really cool they are pectoral fins that split into two.They are known to be rather shy so they tend to be nonthreatening unless someone does something stupid and believe it or not if you are out in the ocean and you think you have seen a shark it might just be a Cownose Ray. Their wings sometimes hit the surface of the water scaring people off. That is your Seaworld lesson of the day and you can get plenty more while enjoying a fun filled healthy day at Seaworld San Diego or any Busch Garden theme park in the country.

About Me

I am a nutritionist trying to inspire. I went from weighing 268 pounds and playing video games for exercise to working out regularly cooking healthy meals and working out religiously. My experiences and lessons come from my religion, family, friends and places I get to explore. I love to find new ways to cook healthy meals and just enjoy life and I love to vent about all of it in my blogs.